City Too Corrupt
by tamaraface
Summary: AU. Spencer and Ashley and a city that may be too much for the both of them. Based very loosely on Romeo and Juliet. ON HOLD.
1. Masque

**Title: City Too Corrupt**

**Author: This one chick here, otherwise known as Tammie**

**Summary: AU Spencer and Ashley and a city that may be too much for the both of them. Based _pretty _loosely on "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet" (as gay as that sounds).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own South of Nowhere, but oh, if I did. I'm pretty sure "R&J" is public domain, but in case it's not, that belongs to Billy Shakespeare.**

**Incredibly Long Author's Note: Not sure where all this AU stuff is coming from, but I'm running with it. Please note that perspective changes are denoted by a sequence of dashes (i.e. --------------) if that's not obvious. Sorry if that gets confusing, the jarring perspective changes. Shouldn't be too hard to follow, though.**

**This is a rather longish first part. I don't usually write this much in one post, so don't get used to it. I just found that every time I wanted to stop, I couldn't so there it is.**

**Like it? Don't? Tell me so. Second part goes up when I get ten reviews.**

The shot of whiskey goes down like liquid fire as Ashley throws back another shot. There's a round of cheers as she slams the shot glass back down on the table and throws her arms up in victory. Aiden demands for the best five out of seven, because he refuses to be drunk under the table by a girl, even if she was his best friend. Ashley smirks her answer around the mask she's wearing and pulls herself together enough to go off in search of a restroom.

Her feet are cooperating for the most part and she hasn't run into anything yet. She'll admit, this party isn't sucking half as bad as she thought it would. She hadn't been too keen on sneaking into the Carlin Halloween party, disguises or not, but Aiden had talked her into it. The things she did for that boy. Ashley turns on the faucet and runs soapy hands under the spray when she's finished. She tries to adjust the mask on her face, but it still itches. She feels just a little stupid, maybe more than a little, because everyone knows Wonder Woman did not wear a mask but Aiden insisted they had to be incognito and hide their features and avoid detection. Illicit parties weren't without their price, Ashley supposed.

When she was sufficiently satisfied, Ashley made her way to the door. She reached out and pulled it open at the same moment someone else on the other side was pushing it. A pack of girls tumbled in and Ashley stumbled back. Someone had almost landed on top of her, Ashley had all but caught her in her arms. There was a chorus of "Sorry"s as several people tried to recompose themselves. Ashley catches a glimpse of bright blue eyes as the girl in her arms quickly rises out of them and throws her a shy smile and Ashley feels something inside break open. It takes about four seconds before Ashley ends up on the other side of the door but she realizes three things: 1) The girl with those eyes was in a tiny cop costume 2) Girls who have to pee can get pushy, if not violent, about clearing their restrooms of strangers 3) Ashley needs the girl with those eyes back in her arms again.

Ashley stares at the door as she thinks this when she feels a pair of strong hands grasp her shoulders and spin her around. Aiden asks her if she fell in and drags her off to where there's more beer. Ashley thinks he does make a good Zorro when he picks her up and throws her over his shoulder in a fire person's carry. He puts her down by the keg and Ashley's eyes are still glued to the door, waiting for an almost-blonde to emerge. When she does, Ashley follows the curtain of golden brown through a throng of dancing monsters, clowns, and witches. When Ashley rounds a corner by the DJ booth, she thinks she's lost her. She leans back against a speaker and she can feel the chords of "Colorblind" through the metal more than she can hear it.

"Looking for me?" Ashley hears that.

She spins on her heels and falls into impossibly blue eyes. Ashley opens her mouth and closes it because no words come out. The girl smiles at Ashley's inarticulateness and Ashley can't believe how beautiful she is or how not ridiculous she looks as a naughty cop. Ashley actually thinks that the handcuffs could come in handy…

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Spencer is still smiling and she thinks she might look a little dumb, grinning like a child at a girl she barely knows. The girl is still just standing there, staring, but it's a good kind of staring. The kind that makes Spencer feel wanted and needed and it's all pretty intoxicating--or is that just the vodka? Spencer knows this girl has been pretty much following her all night. Spencer had practically tackled her stumbling into the restroom and while it was a less than graceful meeting, it was a meeting nonetheless.

Spencer thinks she hears Counting Crows when Wonder Woman closes the gap between them. Spencer pushes a gold-sequined mask up over reddish-brown curls just before their lips meet and now all she can hear is breathing and what she's pretty sure is her heartbeat as a warm tongue slips out to greet hers.

Now, Spencer was never really one for fairy tales and love-at-first-sight and all that, but as nimble, urgent fingers get lost in her hair and push her gently but firmly against the speakers Spencer thinks maybe she could get into love-at-first-kiss.

There's something inside Spencer telling her that she probably shouldn't be pushed up against the stereo by a girl who's name she doesn't know and who's face she hasn't even seen but there's something else inside her screaming that she shouldn't care.

A soft mouth is pulled from hers and Spencer actually moans at the loss of contact. They must have hit the sound equipment too hard because the music's stopped. When Spencer looks back, the girl is taking hold of her wrist and smiling so wide her nose crinkles just a bit and Spencer thinks it's beyond adorable. She lets herself be pulled around corners, down hallways, and through gyrating bodies and wonders how it's possible that she hasn't met this girl before.

She doesn't even have time to ask her name because as soon as she's able, the girl has her pushed up against the closest available surface and she's kissing Spencer again. Not that Spencer minds.

There's a tap at her hips and Spencer jumps up a little so she can be lifted onto the table behind her. Only, she kind of misses and catches the edge because neither of them are really watching what they're doing. An errant hand flies out to steady the rest of her, but Spencer accidentally knocks a vase off its pedestal. Before it can crash to the floor, she's already being pulled away and they're both giggling.

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Ashley tries to stifle her laughter because she can guess how expensive that vase or whatever must've been, but the girl is laughing, and Ashley's laughing, so it can't be that bad. Ashley's trying to find someplace to go that isn't so incredibly occupied, this house is freaking huge, there should be some spare rooms, Ashley thinks. When she decides to ask, she turns in time to see a bunch of big, drunk guys plow into them and she feels the warm hand slip from hers.

Ashley gets kind of pushed away for the second time the night because the rather inebriated horde of pretty large boys is still coming. Unfortunately for Ashley, seeing through people isn't one of Wonder Woman's abilities. She tries to force her way through the mass of muscle and stupid but they're too big and she's too small. She catches sight of Aiden when she tries to make it around the crowd and he catches up to her before Ashley can find the girl again.

"Ash! Come on, we gotta go; we're blown!" Ashley wants to tell Aiden that she doesn't want to hear about his sexual exploits right now, but she realizes he means their _cover_ is blown. Damn.

Aiden has to literally drag her towards the door and it's not an easy task because the party's breaking up, there are people milling about everywhere, and Ashley's fighting him every step of the way.

Ashley barely makes out a head of blondish hair when she and Aiden reach the front door. How she manages, she has no idea, but she stops Aiden in his tracks and demands of him her mystery girl's name.

She can see her up on the landing and she points her out the same instant she catches her eyes. Ashley can feel herself smiling even as Aiden yells back over his shoulder, pulling her the rest of the way out the door. "That's Spencer _Carlin_, how could you not know that!"

And just like that, Ashley smile, and her world, crumbles.

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Spencer's heart is still pounding, only it doesn't feel like it did five minutes ago. Five minutes ago when she was kissing Ashley and Ashley was kissing her and Ashley didn't have a name. Spencer thinks she'd give just about anything for it to be five minutes ago again.

Before she and Ashley had been separated, before Madison had pulled her up the stairs, before she saw Ashley pointing from the door and smiling when Madison leaned over and hissed Ashley's name in her ear.

Spencer races up to her room as fast as she can and is determined not to cry as she falls onto her bed. She cries anyway. Then she screams as loud as she can, into her pillow to muffle the noise because the last thing she needs right now is for her mother or someone to come in and ask her what's wrong.

She sits up and hurls the pillow as hard as possible, but it's still a pillow so it doesn't go very far. She's confused and she's hurting and she's in love, but mostly she pissed off at her family for fighting with the Davies over _nothing_. Okay, no, mostly she's in love, but that's beside the point. Or is that the point entirely, she isn't sure.

Spencer undresses and slips into a tank top and boxers to sleep in. Even though she knows she won't sleep and it's pointless to try, but she really can't stay in that police uniform any longer, as cute as she looks in it, it's really undersized. She tries to run a brush through her hair and for a second she can almost feel Ashley's fingers there instead. She wants to feel Ashley's fingers again. She wants to feel Ashley period.

The brush is paused mid-stroke in Spencer's hair and she's lost in her thoughts when she thinks she hears her name.

"Spencer?" urges a hushed voice from the other side of the balcony door. "_Spencer!"_

Spencer stands and makes her way to the door carefully. When she pushes them open, her mouth actually drops open a little. Ashley's on the wall of the balcony, straddling the trellis and still in her Wonder Woman costume.

"A little help?" Ashley begs. She's got one leg on either side of the wall and she's supporting herself entirely on her hands. Spencer can see that the inside of a leg of Ashley's tights is snagged among the roses and Spencer wants to laugh a little.

Spencer moves immediately to help Ashley until she realizes she'd have to reach in between Ashley's legs to free her, so she hesitates. A little.

"Arms…burning," Ashley kind of whines. So Spencer stretches out a hand to lift the spandex from the thorns and they're both trying to ignore the fact that her hand is basically wriggling in Ashley's crotch.

When Spencer gets her free, Ashley swings her other leg over a little too quickly and they both tumble to the ground, Ashley on top. Spencer sits up as soon as she's able, but Ashley stays in her lap. Spencer makes no move to change this.

"What are you doing here? If they catch you--" she starts.

"I don't care." Ashley leans forward a bit and rests her forehead against Spencer's. "I don't care. I just needed to see you again."

"Ashley, we can't. You know we can't. You shouldn't even be here," but Spencer isn't even convincing herself. Ashley's hands have found their way to Spencer's stomach and they're tracing lazy stars and hearts and Spencer thinks she's getting a little lost. In Ashley's eye's, in Ashley's touch, and she doesn't want to come back.

"I needed to see you again," Ashley whispers, and Spencer feels something inside her break open.


	2. Dizzy

**Disclaimer: We both know it's not mine, so don't sue; it's not nice.**

**Rating: Forgot to include one, but due to mature subject matter, let's call it PG-13**

**Another Author's note: Not entirely sure where I'm going with this, but I have most of it mapped out, so we'll see. I'm not really happy with like, 58 of this update, but what do you expect at like, 3:40 in the morning, which is when I started this part. So sorry if it's suckish, especially towards the end. Um, phone dialogue is in italics if you don't pick up on that. Feedback is love.**

Ashley buries her face in Spencer's neck, nuzzling the skin until she hears a giggle. A pink tongue darts out to meet the dip in Spencer's throat. She's kind of sucking and almost nipping when Spencer has to warn her to be careful. Ashley smiles and drops a kiss on Spencer's bare shoulder before pulling back to look at her.

She pushes a strand of blonde hair behind a tiny ear and Spencer leans into her touch, pressing her lips to Ashley's hand. Ashley sighs and crawls out of Spencer's lap, standing, she offers Spencer a hand and pulls her up from the ground. Ashley is brushing of the seat of her pants when Spencer asks her, point blank.

"Do you love me?" Ashley looks up and Spencer looks down. "I know you'll say yes, but I need to hear it. I mean if... I just need to hear it. Do you love me?"

Ashley nods, "Already." Ashley wants to say more. She had this whole speech ready when she had left Aiden with her car and sprinted back to the Carlin house. She wants to tell Spencer just how much she loves her and how happy she knows they can be and how messed up this whole situation is but it's all cut short because they can both hear heavy footsteps padding up the stairs and Spencer's mother calling her name. They both react and Spencer ushers Ashley pretty quickly back towards the trellis she crawled up. "Meet me tomorrow?"

"What? Ashley, you have to go!"

"Meet me tomorrow," Ashley insists. She won't leave until Spencer agrees, and Spencer knows this.

"You know I can't, I'll figure something out. All right? Now go." Spencer is practically shoving Ashley down the side of the balcony and Spencer's mom is getting closer.

"Now say you love me." Spencer checks over her shoulder before turning back to Ashley. "Say it or I'm not leaving."

"I love you, okay?" And she leans over and kisses Ashley quickly before she can ask for that too. "Now go!"

Ashley shimmies down the trellis and she can just hear voices from the balcony as she tiptoes through the darkness. She pulls out her cell to tell Aiden to come and get her, but he's still parked down the street. She climbs into the passenger seat and she knows she's grinning like an idiot and Aiden looks at her like she's grinning like an idiot. Aiden mumbles something about how Ashley owes him, but Ashley's still smiling, her eyes on the window where she can almost make out Spencer's silhouette.

Ashley feels like she did when she was five, on the pier and spinning in the Tilt-a-Whirl. Happily dizzy and just a little nauseous. She rests her head against a tinted window and lets her eyes fall closed. She tells Aiden she's going to need another favor, but she doesn't have to beg. Why not, he says, let's make sure I'm completely whipped. And Ashley smiles as they continue down the 15.

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Spencer had just barely managed to pull the balcony doors closed when her mother had burst into her room. Has she never heard of knocking? Paula Carlin had gone on about what a success the party had been, despite the crashers. So Spencer sits at her vanity combing out her hair and thinking about Ashley while her mother continues.

"Spencer?" she asks, pulling Spencer out of an almost-daydream. "What's that on your neck?"

"Nothing," Spencer insists, her hand immediately flying up to cover what she's sure is a hickey. Then she mentally scolds herself because an innocent person wouldn't be so defensive, but dammit, she'd told Ashley to be careful.

"Is that…?"

"It's nothing, mother." Paula rises from her place on Spencer's bed and crosses the room to where Spencer sits.

"Then you had a good time with Kelly?" Paula asks Spencer's reflection.

Spencer has to think for a second what the hell her mother is talking about. Oh, yes. Kelly. The one who had pulled her into the restroom in the first place. The daughter of one of her mother's very influential friends. The girl Paula insists would be a "smart match" for Spencer. Too bad Kelly was a vapid whore with a bad habit of picking up girls and taking advantage of them in bathroom stalls and cars on lookout points.

"Look, mom--"

"Relax, sweetheart. You don't have to explain. I was young once, too. I remember." Okay, ew. Spencer pushes herself up from her seat and tells her mother she has to get to sleep, it's late.

Spencer slips into the hall once her mother has disappeared into the master bedroom, and she steps quickly to her brother Clay's door. She has to knock a couple times before he answers and lets her in.

"What's up, Spence?" Clay asks as he seats himself at his desk. Spencer leans over to wrap her brother in a hug from behind.

"I need a little favor from my favoritest big brother. Help me out?"

Clay sighs and spins his chair promptly so he's facing his sister. He eyes her for a second because he can guess what this is about and he wants no part in it. But Spencer's pouting and it's really hard to say no to her when she's pouting.

"What do you want?" he says, crossing his arms.

"Okay, first I know what you're going to say when I tell you, but you're just going to have to try to understand."

"Then this _is _about Ashley Davies?" Spencer sighs and her eyes drop to her feet and that's answer enough for Clay. "Spencer…"

"Look, I know, okay? I know how crazy it is and I know what you're thinking. I know that we shouldn't, but--"

"No, Spencer. It's not that you shouldn't, it's that you _can't_. She's a Davies. It's completely unfathomable. It's-it's deplorable, even. It's just--it's impossible," he trips over his words, he's so incredulous.

"You don't understand, Clay. You have no idea what I feel for her."

"You don't even know her!"

"Yes, I do!" Spencer stands up and fights to keep her voice low. "Maybe I don't her favorite color or her middle name or if she's right or left handed, but I _know_ her. I know what she sounds like when she's laughing. I know how her eyes change when she smiles or when she doesn't. And I know that she loves me."

Clay scoffs at this because the idea is so completely ridiculous. They were together maybe ten, fifteen minutes and Spencer thinks she loves her. Ridiculous.

Spencer watches as her brother shakes his head at the mention of "love" and she kneels down in front of him, he has to understand. She needs him to understand. She needs him to tell her that it's okay for she and Ashley to be together.

"What if it was you? You love Chelsea. If somebody told you that you couldn't see her, that it was wrong, that would destroy your family because of some stupid feud over nothing, you would _still _love her. Wouldn't you do whatever you could to be with her?" Clay looks away from her, like he's really considering and Spencer reminds him that if he won't help her, she'll just find someone else who will.

"What do you need?"

--------------------------------

Ashley buries her toes further in the sand. Aiden is getting antsy beside her. She feels bad, she dragged him out her around dawn to wait with her, and he's been pretty patient so far. She wasn't sure what to expect but she had to make sure she was waiting in case Spencer showed up. Aiden had to make sure that Ashley would be okay.

"Excuse me, Ashley?" And Ashley and Aiden both turn around. The boy is kind of standing in the sun so they can't really see him until they stand. "I have a message for you from Spencer."

"Is she here?" Ashley asks the dark boy.

"No, but she wanted me to give you this." He hands Ashley a cell phone, it's pretty cheap looking so Ashley guesses it must be disposable and untraceable. She thinks it's a little over the top, but she takes it anyway. "Just hit redial and it'll connect you to Spencer's phone."

Ashley does and steps away, leaving Aiden with Spencer's brother, which, in retrospect, probably isn't the best idea. But Ashley doesn't care. She doesn't care about anything except hearing Spencer's voice again.

_Ashley_, Spencer breathes.

_This is pretty Charlie's Angels of you, Spence_, Ashley says, smiling.

_Clay's idea. Listen, can you get away tonight? Spencer sounds almost desperate. My parents have a some benefit thing, they'll be pouring themselves into bed around dawn_.

_What are you thinking, sleepover? _But Ashley's not joking.

_Nine o'clock_, but Ashley can hear the smile in Spencer's voice. _You can get up the balcony, just make sure not to trip any of the camera sensors along the wall. Clay has a list, ask him for it. _

_Okay, babe. I'll see you tonight._

_Can't wait_, and Ashley hears a click as she and Spencer are disconnected.


	3. Touch

**Disclaimer: Still not mine except what is.**

**Rating: PG to be safe.**

**A/N: Sorry, I wanted to get an update up sooner but I've been busy, and this one is much shorter than the previous ones, which I'm super sorry for. But I'd love to hear what you think and how I can make it better, so please don't hesitate to tell me. Still unbeta'd so any mistakes are mine. Sorry if this bit comes off kind of mawkish.**

Ashley had made it through the back yard and to the wall without much trouble. As far as she knew, she hadn't tripped any sensors or set off any alarms. She's pretty sure if she had, she'd know by now. Getting up the trellis again proves to be more difficult than the last time because Ashley's nervous and her hands are kind of shaking which makes for poor climbing. But she manages.

It's a warm night. Even for LA. There'd been this sort of heat wave these last couple days and it was sort of overcast and humid out, even in the darkness. The kind of weather that lent itself to little clothing and lots of air-conditioning. Ashley's only wearing a tiny black tank top and a pair of old denim shorts. She thinks it probably wasn't the best idea to wear flip-flops, especially when she knew she'd be practically scaling walls, but Ashley was never really one for forethought.

Ashley knows she's late. She knows Spencer said nine and that it's past midnight. Escaping her parents and her band of merry men was a little harder than Ashley thought it would be. Everyone had seemed concerned about her late-night destinations and Ashley had to wait until she could slip out unnoticed and it took much longer than she'd anticipated. But she's here now and that's what matters.

Ashley isn't surprised to find that Spencer's door is slightly ajar. What's surprising is that Spencer has fallen asleep waiting for her. Ashley crosses the room as quietly as she can and she should probably be watching where she's going so she doesn't run into stuff, but she's too busy watching Spencer. The room is rather warm and Ashley assumes that's why Spencer had decided to forgo the pajamas and sleep in a bra and panties, but Ashley can't help but entertain other ideas about why Spencer is asleep in her underwear.

Her attire matching Spencer's now, Ashley sinks softly to her knees next to Spencer's bed and takes in the sight of her. Spencer's all long, tanned limbs and tousled blonde hair and Ashley loves it. Her eyes follow the rise and fall of Spencer's chest as she breathes and Ashley stretches out a tentative hand and her fingertips chase the trail of her gaze.

Up a long arm and down a bare leg. Over a slightly knitted brow and under a curtain of golden-brown hair. Across a beating heart and a tiny exposed belly button. From perfectly manicured fingers to preciously painted toes, Ashley touches her. Softly though, so Spencer doesn't wake and Ashley's fingers tingle. Ashley looks up to an innocent, unguarded face, her hand resting on Spencer's bare hip, and she doesn't think she'd ever tire of touching Spencer. She thinks she'd be satisfied with even the regular parts of her; an elbow, an earlobe.

Ashley brings her hand to Spencer's cheek and sweeps the back of her fingers down a perfect jaw line when Spencer stirs. Blue eyes fall open to meet brown and they're both smiling. A nervous hand rises to tangle with a steady one as Spencer lifts the covers so Ashley can slide into bed.

**Additional A/N: The next post will involve a scene of a sexual nature. But I'm wondering how explicit to make it. I've got three options: 1) Mere references to sexual acts, but no descriptions whatsoever. 2) Mild depictions of sexual acts, deliberate but not graphic descriptions of sex. 3) SMUT (pretty self-explanatory, no?). I'm not entirely sure which the audience will prefer, so let me know. Plus, I've never actually written smut, only mild stuff, and I don't want to suck at it. So, yeah. Let me know.**


	4. Night

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

**A/N: I've got this next update in two parts. This part mirrors the last chapter so it's short, the next piece will be longer and up later today. Sorry, I tried my hand at smut and I sucked and anything less seemed like a copout and came off lacking, so I just left it out entirely. Sorry if you're disappointed. Um, I'm about ½ to ¾ of the way through this fic, so tell me what you think and what you want to see differently.**

Spencer lets her eyes fall shut when the breeze hits her face. Her hair floats a bit in the gentle air and she takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly. She can see the LA skyline from here at this open window. The scope of the city a cluster of lights against the darkened sky. She thinks this city is the problem. Or at least, it surrounds the problem. If she could get away from here it might be okay.

Spencer's not stupid. She knows she can hardly expect that she and Ashley could depart on horseback and ride off into the sunset. Her parents and Ashley's would see to that. But that doesn't mean Spencer doesn't want to. She wants to take Ashley away from here. Away from their families and their lives and this city that's just too much for them. So they can be together and free and happy.

Spencer shakes her hair back over her shoulder as she crosses her arms and leans against the windowsill and muses. Spencer and Ashley will never be able to be SpencerandAshley if they stay here. Spencer knows this. She knows that's what she wants and if her parents can't accept them then they can't accept them. It'll suck, but they'll deal. Spencer may want her family but she _needs _Ashley. Needs her like nothing else.

Last night was… was something. The end of something and the start of something else. Something better. Spencer smiles to herself, remembering. Remembers making love and how it was nothing at all like she imagined but better than she'd hoped for. Remembers quiet touches and whispered moans and Spencer can't imagine living anymore without nights like these in her life.

Spencer isn't the most experienced, but sex she's had. And Spencer thinks that last night was more than that. It was burning and passionate and thrilling and sweet and gentle and maybe just a little rough. There were no fireworks when Ashley kissed her. No butterflies when naked skin met skin. There was no soft fade to violins and candlelit skin, but Spencer thinks that watching Ashley watch her as she brought her to climax is as close to perfect as Spencer will ever see.

Spencer hears movement in her bed and turns to see Ashley stirring in her sleep. A blind arm reaches out to find an empty space and Spencer loves that she's the first thing Ashley looks for when she wakes. Ashley sits up, one hand holding the sheet over her bare body and reddish-brown curls a mess on her head. Spencer says that she's right here and even in the dark she can make out Ashley's smirk.

Ashley crooks and extended finger and beckons Spencer closer, pulling her into an embrace as soon as Spencer's close enough. Lips connect lazily once. Twice, as Spencer settles back under the sheets. Ashley snaps Spencer's bra strap affectionately and she looks up at Spencer almost confused at the prospect of clothing right now. Small skilled hands help Spencer out of offending garments and all she can think when Ashley is over her, under her, inside her again is "perfect."


	5. Away

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Hasn't been, won't ever be.**

**A/N: Gonna be wrapping it up pretty soon. I can't seem to keep a fic going too long. Blame the short attention span. Please, please, PLEASE leave feedback. Even if it's "You suck" written in crayon. I'd love to know if people are reading and comments make me work faster. Please note that I'm switching the perspective to third person-omniscient (if you don't know what that is, pay more attention in English class) because that back and forth thing I was doing is starting annoy me. Sorry this update is so short, but I'm going home soon and between planning, packing, and goodbyes, I haven't had much time for writing.**

The girls wake in a puddle in Spencer's bed. Limbs and hair tangled and sweat adhering one to the other and neither is sure where one ends and the other begins. Spencer's eyes pop open when an errant hand collides haphazardly with her cheek. She hears a giggle as Ashley mumbles a sorry. Ashley wants to roll over because Spencer fell asleep on her arm and Ashley isn't sure she can feel it anymore. She wiggles her fingers to regain some sensation but only manages to tickle the small of Spencer's back. Spencer sits up with a start and looks a bit panicked.

"Oh, my God. Ash!" she says, turning wild eyes to Ashley's face. "You have to leave, like right now!"

"But, it's still early." Ashley turns on her side and pulls a pillow over her head to illustrate her point. "More sleep."

"No, Ashley. It's already late, you need to get out of here before you get caught. Before _we _get caught." Spencer pulls the pillow from Ashley's face and swats her with it. "Now, Ashley."

Ashley groans and pulls herself into a sitting position to face Spencer. It is far too early to argue, she thinks, and she's had far too little sleep. But then she remembers the reason for their utter lack of sleep and smiles goofily in spite of herself. Spencer already knows that look and swats Ashley with the pillow again, in an attempt to knock the stupid grin off her face. Ashley has to fight the urge to start a full-on pillow fight because someone would probably hear. So Ashley just throws herself back into the mass of bedding behind her and closes her eyes again.

"Ashley…" Spencer is fully prepared to whine but thinks better of it. Instead, she throws a leg over the other side of Ashley so she's straddling her legs. Spencer settles on top of Ashley and kisses a trail up her body from navel to nose. Ashley has to try hard to suppress a moan when Spencer presses a knee at the apex of her thighs. Spencer's mouth closes over hers and she catches Ashley's moan in her mouth. Once fully satisfied that Ashley is indeed awake, Spencer pulls her lips from Ashley with a small pop and sits up, still on top of a now fully aware Ashley.

Ashley voices her displeasure at the sudden loss of contact in a groan that's heavily laced with arousal. She sits up and Spencer stays in her lap. Arms circle bare shoulders and a waist as the two sit, unabashedly naked, and either girl knows they have never been more content. Spencer sighs again and repeats something about it being late.

"No…" Ashley murmurs, turning her face into the screen of blondish hair.

"Yes." Spencer nudges Ashley forward and points to the window where daylight is slowly creeping over the horizon. "You see that there? Yeah, that's the sun. It usually indicates morning. As in, it is _now _morning and you've got to go." Spencer says this last part gently because she needs Ashley to understand that she doesn't _want _her leave; the situation is just beyond her control.

Ashley just shakes her head again. She reaches behind Spencer and pulls the blanket up over both of them, surrounding them in darkness. "See? Still dark." Ashley wraps her arms around Spencer's neck and kisses her softly. Resting her forehead against Spencer's, she whispers almost inaudibly and there's pain in her voice.

"I don't want to leave you." And Spencer's heart breaks a little because this is hurting her too. With a heavy sigh and a heavier heart, Spencer tosses the blanket off of them. Ashley winces a bit at the light, it seems brighter than a moment ago. Spencer has to crawl out of Ashley's lap and find her clothes before she loses her nerve. She keeps her back to Ashley as she dresses because she can't face those eyes right now.

Spencer pulls a bra up over her arms a settles the cups into place when she feels hands on hers as she tries to buckle the clasp. She tries to keep her voice from cracking when she utters an "Ash, don't."

"But that one's _mine_." And Spencer looks down at the bra she's pulled on and Ashley's right. Spencer makes this kind of noise that's like a snort or a chuckle, or really just a burst of air, at her own stupidity but Ashley can hear the hurt in it. She slides small hands up Spencer's back and gently pushes the straps off her shoulders. Ashley follows the descent of the garment with her mouth, kissing down a tawny arm to a hand that's shaking a little.

Ashley scoots back on the bed, so her right thigh is alongside Spencer's and the two are facing each other. Spencer's hand is still cupping Ashley's face, and when the fingers come away wet Ashley realizes she's crying a little. Ashley presses her lips to Spencer's palm and Spencer has to shut her eyes because they're already welling. This only manages to free the tears Spencer's been trying to hold in and she's sadangryconfused because she didn't think it was possible for something to be this euphoric and still so unbelievably painful at the same time.

Spencer pulls her hand back from Ashley and stands up. She pulls on a discarded nightshirt and throws open her closet, locking the bedroom door as she goes past. She pulls out the biggest duffle bag she owns and throws it on the bed, just barely missing Ashley. Spencer moves to her bureau and starts pulling clothes out and throwing them haphazardly in the general direction of the open duffle. At this point, Ashley is partially dressed and thoroughly confused.

"Spence?" But Spencer doesn't stop what she's doing. "Spencer, what the hell are you doing?"

Spencer halts her movements long enough to throw Ashley an isn't-it-obvious? look. Ashley shakes her head no at the unasked question as Spencer returns to the task at hand, barely pausing to elaborate. Spencer starts mumbling, speaking more to the clothes in her hands than to Ashley, and Ashley only hears about half of it. She picks up an "it's this _place." _ and a "we just need to leave." and a "then it'll be okay," when Ashley has to grasp Spencer's shoulders firmly with both hands to get her to stop moving.

"Baby, what are you saying to me?"

Spencer pulls out of Ashley's grip and snatches a pen from her desk. Returning to Ashley, Spencer uncaps the marker and grabs Ashley's hand. She begins scribbling ornate instructions across a lined and only slightly clammy palm. She finally meets Ashley's eyes and tells her simply, "I'm taking you away from here."


End file.
